Best Glamping near Fort Loudon, PA

We stayed in the Bear Branch Loop of the William Houch Camping Area.  This is a lovely area if you're a beginner camper or just looking for the glamping experience.  The sites are small and not very private but are well defined.  It's very clear where to park, set up the tent etc.  The park itself is very scenic with nice hiking trails and a lake to enjoy.  I was there in the fall so didn't go out on the water but can imagine it would be popular during the warmer months.

This campground is huge, and very crowded. We were there in the days leading up to 4th of July, and there was not a single empty site. Our section had mostly pop-ups and mid-size travel trailers, so the sites were all grass and gravel. However, the area with pull-through sites for big rigs was just a huge RV parking lot. All roads were very narrow and winding. We did fine with the pup, but can’t imagine trying to navigate a large motorhome through there. Crowding/space issues aside, this is a really nice (albeit expensive) campground. Almost everything, from the grounds, to rec halls, to pool and laundry, was sparkling clean and beautifully maintained. Bathrooms were reasonably clean as well, although they could certainly use some TLC and updating (most MD state park bathhouses are nicer).Staff was very friendly, as well. Tons of stuff to do here, especially for families: arts & crafts, indoor movie theatre, games, civil war reenactments, wine tastings, etc. We were certainly never bored, and the kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. Our site was extremely close to our neighbor's site, but still surprisingly roomy and decently shaded. We were right next to the pancake hut (free daily pancake breakfast included during the on-season) and playground, and very close to other activities. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is just a stone's throw away, with great hiking, sight-seeing, and cute little shops.

Overall, this is a really nice place, but much more of a resort than a campground in my opinion. The kids loved it, but I’ll always prefer the wooded seclusion of a state or national park. However, if I was looking for a more action-packed, activities-filled “glamping” experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to return.

This is a nice and large campground by Maryland State Park Standards. Sites are nice and not stacked right on top of one another. Some sites have electric, but the bathhouses are clean and decently well kept. The real draw here is the very large lake stocked with fish, and the casino. Botha are just a short walk from the campground. It is incredibly convenient from I68 but you do t get any highway noise. There are even yurts to rent.

Nestled in the mountains of Pennsylvania, this gem of a campground.
There is a beautiful lake across the road from camping area, which consists of; a very nice hiking trail the whole way around, boating, fishing,swimming & in season concession stand. Also, many hiking trails.

I had made plans to stay at SSP-PA as my first stopover spot, post leaving my beach friends on the East Coast. The morning drive started early, had several stops and starts, and I was once again glad that my big dog was along for the ride. Shawnee is a lovely state park and I was really pleased with my brief stay. 'Though we were only sleeping the one night, I found the staff to be pleasant and the site spacious. It might have helped that the doggo and I were about the only ones in our campground loop, aside from the campground hosts but the area felt well-maintained and well-proportioned. We had a good night's rest, after enjoying a post-dinner campfire and getting to breathe in the fresh, woodsy air. While sitting fireside, I got to enjoy the local wildlife, from birds to young deer, around the edges of my campsite. The campground restroom was clean and a fair size. I would definitely recommend it and I will certainly look into another reservation, the next time I roadtrip through Pennsylvania.

Campground Review: Cowans Gap State Park was pretty awesome. Off the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Fort Littleton, through Burnt Cabin on Rt522, signage the entire way. A drive through the PA mountain-scape, excellent scenery to be seen.

The dog section is 1-30 and a few cabins are offered for them also. No restrictions for dogs on the trails but they are restricted from the rest of the campground.

Several trails to enjoy with easy to very strenuous climbs. Part of the Allegheny trail passes through the Buchanan State Forest, near the campground. Would be a good place to practice your backpacking craft.

New showerhouse facilities which are energy efficient lighting and heating. The water in the shower never gets very warm but they are very clean and well maintained.

There is plenty of water sports at the lake, watercraft, swimming and fishing.

Product Review: As a Dyrt Ranger I have the opportunity to review some pretty awesome outdoor gear. I received Mishmi Takin hiking boots after winning one of the monthly contests.

I love the color, I’m all about burnt orange. I have large feet and was happy to see that the company offers footwear up to 13.5 in. I ordered an 11, was surprised when they arrived and were a little big on my feet. So you may want to order a 1/2 size down. On the flip side though I put on my thick hiking socks, synched the laces down and they fit fine.

I wore the boots multiple times during our 8 state trip on several different trail types. I was impressed by grip, no slippage on multiple surfaces.

I hate to say it but I have sweaty feet! And wearing thick hiking socks in boots often leaves me with raisinie toes and damp socks/boots at the end of a long hike. I did not experience that problem while wearing the Mishmi Boots though. My feet stayed comfortable and were dry when I pulled the boots off back at camp. I am liking these boots!

Friendship Village Campground in Bedford, Pa.

Overall, I give the campground 4.5 out of five stars. The campground is nestled on the outskirts of Bedford Pennsylvania and is a very easy location to travel to regardless of your rig size. Check in was extremely easy particularly if you pay for your stay upfront. In that case all you need to do is walk into the office and they will have your packet ready for you and you’re headed to your site within a minute.

The office staff was extremely friendly and you can tell that this is a family owned and religious-based campground. The campground is quite spread out through the property with sites ranging from primitive campsites to full hook up big rig sites.

There are multiple ponds on the property however only one of them can be fished in. No license is required for fishing here. There are also two pools at each end of the campground and they are very well-maintained and have lifeguard supervision. The pool hours or a little later than most campgrounds as they open at 11 through the week and 12 on Sunday. The campground does maintain a policy of having to wear a shirt or a cover-up when not in the pool vicinity but that was not really a big issue. The lower pool is right beside the main office which also includes an arcade and a very nice miniature golf course. The upper pool is larger and also well maintained.

Neither pool has provided seating so you will need to bring your own camp chairs or towels to sit on. They also do not provide umbrellas but allow you to bring your own as long as they are 5 feet wide or less.

There are many playgrounds spread out across the property as well as a jumping pillow and a very well-built gaga ball pit. We stayed at site number 41 for the weekend and have no complaints at all. It’s a little more of a tight packed area versus the rest of the campground but it was in good vicinity to everything.

For tent campers I recommend staying in the area of sites 5-25 as there is a very nice bathhouse very close by. For big rig campers, you need to stay at the upper portion of the campground at sites 200-500. In my opinion, the best sites to stay at if you have kids are sites 145–171 as those are right beside the jumping pillow, playground and gaga ball pit.

The property had a movie showing in their barn on Saturday night (Despicable Me) and they also seem to schedule a lot of live entertainment, mostly Bluegrass. The staff on the property is virtually nonexistent minus trash pickup, lifeguards, and office staff...which I think is not a bad thing. I imagine if we would have needed anything, it would have been easy to find a staff member. If you have any issues with your camping rig, there is a full-service RV dealership basically at the entrance to the campground where you can buy virtually anything that you may require.

I only give this campground 4.5 out of five stars primarily due to its location. There is really nothing to do in Bedford Pennsylvania. You are limited to the activities within the campground unless you travel to another township to find something to do. There are no hiking trails in the campground however it was quite nice to walk through the campground at 5 o’clock every morning. I would absolutely return here again, the rates were very reasonable for the value to get out of it. Even though our campsite was close to the fishing pond, it was a little tighter than the other larger sites and I think I would attempt to stay in those next time.

All in all, this is a great family (non-commercialized) campground and I would recommend staying here.

One of our favorites! campground sits right on a gorgeous lake. Lots of fishing options including boats you can rent. A walking trail wraps around the whole lake. There's lots of hiking trails, a real sand beach and swimming area, pedal boat and canoe rentals. You wont be disappointed!

We went to Cowans gap last full for a Halloween weekend and the children loved it. We even won the campsite decorating contest. We went this summer and camped in A-tent with friends of ours who had never done it Before & After the amazing trip at callans gap they want to do it again. Awesome beach, nice sights, And a quiet area what more could you want.

Beautiful mountain retreat. Quiet and peaceful! There are many hiking and biking trails and a nice lake for fishing, swimming, and kayaking or canoeing. Swimming beach and adequate facilities. You are totally off the grid as far as cell, WiFi, and TV signal. Be prepared to be out of communication during your stay.

What a great “new” to us campground! Sites were spaced nicely. Our site was pretty level. We had room to park 2 trucks and still have space for table and fire pit. Area A is larger than area B and sites 1-30 are on the two way road in and out. We were in sites 81 and 83. We backed up to the woods and a small creek. The view was beautiful! The lake had a 1.5 mile trail that was level and easy to walk. The beach area looked nice. There is a snack bar and sketchy wifi. The camp site area had NO cell or wifi service at all. They had a program each night for star watching and a full moon walk. There were other hiking trails with gorgeous overlooks. True park has boat rentals for the lake. The bath house near us was just toilets. The shower house was further away. You could walk it but it’s a hike and there are hills.

Our trip to Cowan's Gap was great--and the weather was amazing as well! 

The pros:

• Easily accessible and CLEAN bathhouse and showers. 
• Sites spaces out and separated by trees
• Lake access within walking distance
• Hiking trails nearby
• Polite, approachable hosts
• "Beach" access
• Camp store with concessions
• Kayak rentals on site

The cons: 

• You can hear the people on the beach from across the lake--lots of kids screaming
• The overlook access road was closed
• Camp store only open 11-5
• Firewood (purchases there) just would.not.burn!

Have only visited the day-use area of this park, which was very beautiful, clean, and relatively quiet. Nice snack and bathing facilities close to beach, as well. This park is located in a quiet, mountain setting in south-central PA; feels like you're out in the country, but it's also not far off the turnpike, so pretty accessible. Would definitely return!

We arrived after dark, way past the 3pm check-in time, but didn't have any trouble finding our reserved campsite. There were plenty of signs; everything is well marked. We stayed at site 23, a tent site. Sites 1-30 allow pets. This loop was full. I would recommend booking in advance if you plan on bringing your dogs. Vet records or proof of vaccines weren't required.

The tent sites are paved so you can't hammer stakes into the ground. It was windy so we had to get the gear into tent so we wouldn't get blown away.

The water pump is located right in front of site 23. This was convenient but we also had a lot of visitors. If we stay again we would probably choose a more private site with less foot traffic.

The bathrooms were very clean. However, the closest bathroom didn't have showers. It also only had cold water. The bathhouse with showers was located at the other end of the loop; a little bit of a walk. It had three regular showers and one large handicap accessible shower. The sinks at this one did have hot water.

Check-in the next morning was very quick and easy. I had paid online when I made the reservation so I didn't have to do anything. The park rangers were very friendly.

We drove down to the lake from our site after we finished packing up. The lake was beautiful. There's a beach and swimming area. There's a little viewing area/dock with information on the bald eagles and osprey that live there. They have a little concession stand that sold drinks, French fries and some other snacks. They have a little gift shop with t-shirts for sale.

Overall we enjoyed our stayed. The only complaint we had, and it's a pretty big one, is that there's NO CAMP STORE. No place to buy bags of ice, extra batteries, lighters, or any other supplies that people usually need when camping. And this campground is in the middle of nowhere. There's no Walmart's or grocery stores for several miles. Luckily we were only staying for one night and had what little we needed. If you plan on staying for more than a couple days, make sure you come very prepared! There is a little diner though called Milky Way's that we stopped at for breakfast on the way home, not far from the campground entrance. I give them a thumbs up. Very good food for very cheap.

This state park is at the top of the mountain and has a smaller lake perfect for a short kayak trip or fishing. Lovely views from the lake and very nice secluded sites. Our site was up a hill a little but we were good. We were right aside of flushing bathrooms and the dump station. We didn't like you had to go all the way out and around to dump and then out and around again to leave. Other than that very nice park with hiking trails, lots of beautiful pavilions, picnic areas, building that had food for sale, peddle boat and kayak rentals, fishing, beach area for swimming, multiple boat launches. Definitely need a bicycle to get to day use area as the loop is very long. Also, watch for no pets allowed signs as it is just the first part of the sites in Area A.

This was my 3rd trip to Cowan's Gap, and this year I reserved the large group tent site for mainly families of my son's soccer team. We had about 40 people, most of which were kids. Last year, we all stayed at a few of the single campsites for RVs but used tents. This was not ideal as the ground was all gravel, and it was right next to the road. The group site is much better, because it is set back into the woods reasonably far from the road, providing quieter and more natural surroundings. Also, many of the kids had bikes, so they were able to ride around the campsite without us worrying about cars on the road. The group site has tent pads which are flat and gravel covered, but the rest of the area is natural forest floor with some grassy and mossy areas.

Probably the best feature of the group site is that it is right next to a clean, shallow stream, so the kids could play in it non stop, catching minnows and throwing rocks with minimal parental supervision.

There is a private bathhouse for the group area, reasonably clean and with running water. No showers though. There are showers at the lake/beach area, but I'm not sure if they are open past Labor Day, and we went one week after. The place was not crowded at all while we were there this time, but during the summer season when I've been there in the past, the beach area can get pretty packed.

Firewood is somewhat challenging and pricey, as it is only sold by a guy who appears to be a permanent RV resident (living at camp site #1 for reference) in the off season. The park asks that no out of state firewood be brought in for fear of spreading pests like emerald ash borer.

Rangers are friendly and helpful, and we learned from one that the closest ER is only 11 miles away (Fulton County medical center in Mcconnellsburg) when my youngest split open his chin and needed stitches. There is generally poor to no cell service across most of the park, although by the lake you can sometimes get a few bars for texts to go thru.

Overall, everyone loved the weekend at Cowan's Gap. We had perfect weather, which certainly was nice. I'm guessing we'll go back again next year with an even bigger crew.

Pet friendly (spaces 1-30, Campground A), nice shower houses with heat, well laid out beach, beach house, watercraft rentals, friendly park rangers & staff, and in the center of trails galore!

Friendly staff lots to do pretty clean peaceful

Un lugar bonito para llevar a la familia y quedarse a dormir el sitio cuenta con cabañas y sitios de tiendas de campaña es silencioso y limpio todos los baños cuenta con regaderas excelente lugar

If you are used to primitive/secluded camping this is not the campground for you. We arrived and there was a ton of trash in our site. Someone left their air fresheners, handbag tags from marshalls, and a ton of other junk. This campground is also very noisy. There are supposed to be quiet hours but people were playing loud music from their cars, from speakers, and whatever else until at least 11pm. Our site had no privacy either, we were right next to several other sites (closer than other state parks we've been to). Physical distancing and mask wearing was not enforced/required. People in the close quarters of the restroom were not wearing masks and didn't seem to mind getting within 6 feet of other people. The woman at the front office who we checked in with even took her mask off because it was fogging up her glasses. Oh, and the wood that we purchased from the camp host was wet, so the fire was a dud until a friendly neighbor gave us some of his wood. 

The only positive thing about this campground was the hiking. The first day we hiked up the mountain to the west of the campground, and the second day we hiked up the Tuscarora Trail to the east of the campground. No other campers were hiking these, so we got to appreciate nature by having the trails mostly to ourselves.

Our first time at Cowans Gap and we loved it. 5 nights, 6 days with no cell or wifi to stress us out. Biking, Hiking, sitting around a campfire, very nice. Site 14 was ok, small. Weekend kids were noisy. Bathrooms and showers very clean. Firewood always available. Easy access to dump station. Coming back in July to a site we scout out. Looking forward to our next visit.

Absolutely amazing fall color on the lake and great drives surrounding. Bathrooms are clean and hot showers.